Tue 04 October 2022:
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, was criticized by Kiev for suggesting terms it saw as rewarding Russia, but the Kremlin praised Musk on Tuesday for suggesting a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
“It is very positive that somebody like Elon Musk is looking for a peaceful way out of this situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a conference call.
“Compared to many professional diplomats, Musk is still searching for ways to achieve peace. And achieving peace without fulfilling Russia’s conditions is absolutely impossible,” he added.
Moscow had always been open to a negotiated end to the conflict, Peskov added. He criticised a new Ukrainian decree, signed by Zelenskiy on Tuesday, which says Kyiv will not negotiate directly with Putin for an end to the conflict.
The Tesla CEO suggested in a poll posted on Twitter on Monday that Ukraine permanently cede Crimea to Russia, that fresh referendums be held under U.N. supervision to decide what will happen to the territory under Russian control, and that Ukraine accept neutrality.
‘PEACE PLAN’ FOR UKRAINE SPARKS TWITTER SPAT BETWEEN ZELENSKYY AND MUSK
Kyiv says it will never agree to cede land taken by force, and lawful referendums cannot be held in occupied territory where many people have been killed or driven out. After Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces last week, Kyiv said it was applying to join NATO, and would not negotiate with Russia as long as Putin is president.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded to Musk’s proposal with his own Twitter poll asking: “Which @elonmusk do you like more? One who supports Ukraine (or) one who supports Russia.”
More than 2.5 million people had voted in Musk’s initial poll as of 10:30 GMT on Tuesday, with about 60% opposing the proposal.
On Tuesday, Peskov claimed that fake Twitter accounts known as “bots” were “actively participating in the voting.” Peskov provided no evidence.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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